The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has announced this evening (Thursday), that Tenerife is remaining at the maximum alert level 3 (red traffic light) for Covid, while Gran Canaria and Lanzarote go to level 2 (amber) with La Gomera, and the rest of the islands will stay at level 1 (green).
At the end of the first Governing Council meeting of 2021 earlier this afternoon, Torres announced that the restrictions for these levels will be in place for the next fourteen days from Monday 11th January. Each week the levels in force on each island will be reviewed, with the possibility of changing levels. "We must remain restrictive and comply with the rules," he stressed.
According to the president, all will be printed in the Boletin official of the Canary Islands (BOC) in the next few days, and has been implemented based on a Public Health report of data collected since December 22nd through to January 4th. This means that Tenerife stays with the same restrictions as now, the curfew is maintained from 10pm to 6am, there can be no meetings between non-cohabitants, except in bars, restaurants or cafes with a maximum of four people, and only terraces can be used.
Group sports are not permitted and the interior of gyms must stay closed.
Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and La Gomera will now have a curfew from 11:00pm to 6:00am, and only allowed four people per table, of non-cohabitants, in bar and restaurant spaces.
Closure of all public places at 11:00pm, no activities where the safety distance and the use of masks cannot be guaranteed.
The number on terraces and in the hospitality industry is reduced to four people, compared to six before.
Sports practice is reduced from 6 to four people when it is carried out in groups and visits to hospitals and social health centres are limited.
The capacity in public transport is limited by 50%, and vigilance will be taken to ensure compliance with these indications.
Torres acknowledges that the data is practically the same on those dates if the islands are analyzed as a whole, since on December 22nd the cumulative incidence was 140 positives per 100,000 inhabitants, and on January 4 it was 130, but added that: “The data for Tenerife was very unfavourable in December, but it has worsened in other islands which is why they are very similar as before.”
The Governing Council has been cautious in their decisions as they are expecting an increase of cases in the next two weeks from the ‘Christmas effect’, and are waiting for confirmation if the ‘UK strain’ of the virus is present in the islands or not this weekend.
